Three-dimensional flower-like Pd3Pb nanocrystals enable efficient ethylene glycol electrocatalytic oxidation

Designing and developing cost-efficient catalysts for liquid fuel electrooxidation with excellent performances in the alkaline media are of paramount significance for the practical applications of direct fuel cells. Herein, we describe the design and fabrication of well-defined three-dimensional (3D) Pd3Pb nanocatalysts with flower-like structure. Specifically, benefiting from the high surface active areas and modified electronic structure, the as-obtained 3D flower-like Pd3Pb catalysts can exhibit outstanding electrocatalytic performances with the mass and specific activities of 4515.8 mA/mg and 10.0 mA/cm(2 )toward ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR), which are 4.3 and 5.0 times higher than those of benchmark Pd/C catalysts, respectively. Moreover, the resultant 3D flower-like Pd3Pb nanocrystals (NCs) can also maintain for 500 cycles potential CV with less catalytic degradation and morphology variation. This work not only affords a fascinating electrocatalysts for the liquid fuel oxidation but also manifests the significance of precise morphology control of catalysts for the application of fuel cells. (C) 2018 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.